Chapter 38: The Dashing Borsalino

"I'm looking for the Transponder Snail that can take pictures. Do you remember where you put it, little Nami?" Borsalino scratched his head as he spoke.

It would be more accurate to call this Nami's private office than his own. When was the last time he had even opened these drawers?

"It's in the fourth drawer on the left... what are you planning to photograph?" Nami replied instinctively. She remembered the exact location of every single item of value.

However, as she watched Borsalino take the Transponder Snail out of the drawer and start tinkering with it, Nami subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter, her eyes fixed on him with a hint of danger. She was not like that woman from Amazon Lily who would do anything to curry favor with Borsalino; if he dared to step out of line, she would not indulge him.

"Come on, take a picture of me. Make sure I look handsome!"

Borsalino, failing to notice the shift in Nami's expression, handed her the snail and eagerly sat down on the oversized sofa opposite her, flashing a wickedly charming grin.

Nami, holding the snail, was momentarily speechless. While she suspected he might be using the photo to flirt with other girls, she had long ago accepted the reality that Borsalino was a bit of a playboy. At the very least, he was willing to lower his pride to coax her, and he wasn't the type of scumbag who abandoned the old for the new.

*A little philandering is fine, I suppose.*

In a sense, she was a "third party" just like that woman from Amazon Lily; if Borsalino weren't a philanderer, there wouldn't have been room for them in the first place.

"Is this okay?" Nami was used to using Transponder Snails and quickly snapped a decent photo for him.

In the picture, Borsalino sat on the sofa in a relaxed posture, his partially unbuttoned shirt revealing a strong, aesthetically pleasing chest, his slightly messy black hair framing a face of unparalleled handsomeness. No matter who looked at it, it was hard to find a flaw. Aside from his slightly taller stature compared to an average person, he looked every bit the top-tier noble youth.

"Not bad, not bad. It perfectly captures my dashing good looks..."

Borsalino immediately uploaded the photo Nami had taken to the chat group. The group, which had been buzzing, fell instantly silent.

[Borsalino: See for yourself. This is what I actually look like. What’s this nonsense about me being a middle-aged man!]

[Passerby who wants to hug Luo Feng's thigh: Holy crap! Holy crap, holy crap! What is going on, Boss Kizaru? Aren't you a Glint-Glint Fruit user? How can you change your face? No, wait, even your aura has changed, man!]

[Ai Haibara: This has to be fake! You didn't just take a photo of some celebrity to pass off as yourself, did you?]

[Kobayashi: Incredible. Is Borsalino-san really this handsome?]

[Fubuki: *Hiss*... Is this really him? I think I might be able to...]

[Jotaro Kujo: Ah, I can testify for Mr. Borsalino. He really does look like that...]

[Passerby who wants to hug Luo Feng's thigh: I get it now! Life Return! It must be Life Return! Right? I never imagined this technique came with a built-in plastic surgery effect!]

[Borsalino: I’ve always looked like this. If you don't believe me, take a look at this. It was taken when I was promoted to Admiral...]

Borsalino uploaded another photo. This time, it was a picture of a framed photograph. In it, Borsalino was noticeably younger, but that slightly boyish face was clearly the same person—a standard template for a noble, beautiful youth.

[Kobayashi: Shocked. Borsalino-san is truly handsome! Even better-looking than Orochimaru-san!]

[Ai Haibara: It’s actually real... What kind of cheesy idol drama world is this? How can someone be this handsome and this strong at the same time!]

[Passerby who wants to hug Luo Feng's thigh: Strength is always more important than looks!]

[Ai Haibara: True, but don't you feel a bit strange saying that, coming from someone who is both weak and ugly?]

[Kobayashi: Haibara-san, that’s too harsh. You should be more tactful; it really hurts people’s feelings~]

[Passerby who wants to hug Luo Feng's thigh: I’m shutting down... There’s no justice in this world! Waaah! Being a no-name transmigrator without a cheat is bad enough, but to lose out on looks too? This is unbearable!]

In the *Swallowed Star* universe, the passerby stared at the photo in the chat group—a photo he couldn't lie to himself about, no matter how hard he tried. Then he looked at his own reflection in the mirror and felt utterly miserable.

There was a time when he thought that at least with Borsalino in the group, he wouldn't be the ugliest one, even if Borsalino looked a bit like an ape. But now, it seemed he had been thinking too much. Even before he ate his Devil Fruit, his truly "plain" face couldn't compare to the others. As for the rest of the group—the three girls aside, Tony Stark, who rarely spoke, and the elusive Zhang Sanfeng could be ignored. He had seen how handsome Orochimaru was in his youth during the live stream, and "Fish-Seller Jotaro" was also a character who had been popular with girls since childhood. By that count, was he the only outlier among a group of handsome men?

***

[Kobayashi: Huh? The battle seems to be over, right? Did Orochimaru-san win?]

Because of the discussion sparked by Borsalino's looks, the members of the chat group had missed quite a bit of the live stream.

By the time Kobayashi reminded everyone to watch, Danzo, the root of all evil, had been personally executed by Orochimaru. Before dying, Danzo had even tried to flip the situation by exposing Orochimaru's human experiments. If this had been the original timeline, a few months or a year down the line, he might have actually found damning evidence against Orochimaru.

However, the Orochimaru of this timeline was not the "Snake Uncle" who had lost the position of Fourth Hokage and thrown himself entirely into "scientific research." The human experiments did exist, but they were conducted on ninjas from other villages, and the content hadn't reached a level of total insanity. To the ninjas of Konoha, who had been tempered by the legacy of the Second Hokage, this level of experimentation was still within their range of acceptance.

Ironically, because of Danzo—a precedent so terrible it couldn't be worse—Konoha's tolerance for Orochimaru had unintentionally increased significantly.

"Danzo has been executed. You've caused enough trouble, Orochimaru!" The Third Hokage spoke with a grim expression.

Ever since he became Hokage, he had never experienced such a sense of helplessness, forced to watch everything from the sidelines. Watching his old teammate be executed while being unable to do anything about it—even if Orochimaru had once been his chosen successor, that didn't mean the Third Hokage would accept such reckless behavior.

"On the contrary, Teacher Hiruzen, the main event of the day is just beginning... Please step down."

Orochimaru smiled as he spoke. The words stunned everyone present; the Third Hokage even thought he had misheard.